The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) filed a petition Tuesday with the U.S. Department of Labor to delay the implementation of President Obama’s new overtime rules.
Obama’s controversial overtime rule was announced in May of this year. The president and Labor Secretary Thomas Perez updated overtime regulations that the government contends is expected to extend overtime pay to over 4 million workers within the first year of implementation.
The new rules followed after a 2014 presidential memorandum where President Barack Obama directed the Department to update regulations that define which “white collar” workers were protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime standards.
The new rule raises the salary threshold indicating eligibility for overtime pay from $455 per week to $913 per week, or about $47,476 per year. The rules are scheduled to commence Dec. 1, 2016, but numerous efforts are being made to push back the start of the new rules six months.
“Small business owners have only weeks to comply with a new regulation that will be extremely costly and disruptive,” NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan said. “The House will vote today on a bill to extend the deadline for six months, and we strongly encourage members of both parties to support the measure.”
Sixty-Eight percent of U.S. businesses have fewer than 10 employees, and 39 percent have annual revenues of less than $250,000 according to the NFIB’s petition. While the FLSA enterprise coverage only applies to businesses with an annual revenue of $500,000, individual coverage may apply if the employees are engaged in interstate commerce.
The House is expected to vote today on a bill introduced by Republican congressman Tim Walberg which would delay the new rules for six months. The White House released a statement, opposing the legislation, accusing the bill sponsors of having the goal of delaying and then denying overtime pay to workers.
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